Homeless sue sheriff to sleep at Ohio courthouse

Homeless men who are plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the Hamilton County, Ohio, sheriff hold a news conference at the Hamilton County Courthouse in Cincinnati on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2013.
Cincinnati.com

Sheriff wants to clear homeless from the courthouse and justice center area starting Thursday.

Shafter Jinks, 51, speaks about being homeless during a news conference at the Hamilton County (Ohio) Courthouse on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2013. Jinks has been homeless on and off for years. Jinks is one of four homeless men who sleep outside the Hamilton County Courthouse who have sued Hamilton County Sheriff Jim Neil to make sure they can continue to use the public area as a de facto homeless camp.(Photo: Amanda Rossmann, The Cincinnati Enquirer)

Story Highlights

The homeless men say they have 'the right not to be criminally punished' for being homeless

The homeless consider the wide-open, well-lit area safe

Hamilton County Sheriff's Office is calling the eviction a 'public health issue'

CINCINNATI -- Four homeless men who sleep outside a courthouse in Ohio have sued a county sheriff to make sure they can continue to use the public area as a de facto homeless camp.

Antonio Wilson, Gary Hudson, Shafter Jinks and Brandon Booker filed the lawsuit against Hamilton County Sheriff Jim Neil in U.S. District Court in Cincinnati on Wednesday alleging Neil's plan to stop the homeless from sleeping at the courthouse violates their First, Fourth, Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment rights and the Ohio Constitution.

Among the claims: The homeless have a right to remain "free from cruel and unusual punishment, including the right not to be criminally punished" for being homeless.

"This campaign includes posting 'no trespass' signs on the exterior plazas of the Hamilton County Courthouse and the Hamilton County Justice Center, two quintessential and traditional public forums that cannot be closed to the public, and then threatening to arrest any individuals who sleep or otherwise seek repose on the steps, benches, and sidewalks surrounding these facilities," the suit says.

“It's not like home. To be outside, it's rough. It hurts. But you do what you have to do to survive.”

Shafter Jinks, one of four homeless men suing sheriff

They're seeking to continue sleeping at the courthouse.

"People should not be threatened with arrest and removal for being homeless," said Josh Spring, director of the Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition. "After 30 years of different people finding relative safety sleeping in front of the courthouse and justice center and after weeks of successful collaboration to find long-lasting solutions, Sheriff Jim Neil is unwilling to give enough time for full success and has threatened arrest."

The Sheriff's Office posted a "no trespassing" sign on the courthouse last Friday. So far nobody has been asked to move; Sheriff's Maj. Charmaine McGuffey said deputies will start the eviction Thursday night.

"Nobody dislikes the homeless," said McGuffey. "I'm compassionate, I talk to them, I even buy them coffee. But this is a public health issue."

Supporters gather during a news conference by the Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition at the Hamilton County Courthouse on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2013.(Photo: Amanda Rossmann, The Cincinnati Enquirer)

The homeless have been sleeping outside the courthouse for more than a decade because they consider the wide-open, well-lit area safe. For the most part, those who stay there have been kicked out of the Drop Inn Center and have mental health issues.

Jinks, 51, who once lived in Walnut Hills, a Cincinnati neighborhood, spoke at a news conference Wednesday saying, "I'm a homeless person, but not by choice."

He's been attacked on the streets but feels safe sleeping at the courthouse, he said.

"It's not like home," Jinks said. "To be outside, it's rough. It hurts. But you do what you have to do to survive."

Jinks has been homeless on and off for years -- six months this stretch, he said. He said he's on the waiting list for services but was told it could be 18 months before he gets help.

Asked where he'll go if he's asked to move, he said: "I have no idea. But I'm pretty sure it won't be safe."

Kevin Smith, 27, who also sleeps at the courthouse, said there isn't anywhere else to go "but further into town."

“People should not be threatened with arrest and removal for being homeless.”

Josh Spring, director Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition

As they spoke, they were surrounded by dozens of supporters carrying signs with messages such as "Got compassion?" and "Homelessness is not a crime."

The conflict dates to earlier this summer when Neil announced deputies would begin "county campus" patrols that included evicting the homeless. He called it a "public health hazard" because of the mess that's left behind each morning, including human feces.

Neil worked with county officials to hire an overnight advocate, but that person doesn't start work until Monday. Advocates and providers asked Neil to wait until the winter shelters open for the year, which is dependent on funding. Instead, at a meeting last week, Spring said he was notified the homeless camp will end Thursday.

"We do not believe that people should be threatened with arrest and removal for being homeless," Spring said. "Furthermore, we know that if people are scattered, they will end up in far less safe situations -- under bridges, in storefronts, in alleys, in abandoned buildings -- and will be far less likely to engage services, leaving more chance for people to remain outside during winter."

In Cincinnati, this is not the first time government officials have tackled the issue of homeless camps. In 2003 the issue of homeless people sleeping under downtown bridges made its way to federal court as a constitutional issue when officials posted "no trespassing" signs.

The settlement: To evict the homeless, officials must post eviction notices 72 hours in advance of action, protect people's belongings and notify social service agencies.